Loose-leaf binder.



R. M. WATSON.

LOOSE LEAF BINDER.

APPLICATION mu) FEB. 16, IBIS.

1,201,659. Patented 00m. 17, 1916.

RICHARD M. WATsDN, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN.

LODSE-LEAF BINDER.

fipsciflcation of Letters latent.

Patented Oct. 17, 1916.

Application filed February 16, 1916. Serial No. 78,555.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, RICHARD M. WATSON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Detroit, county of Wayne, State of Michigan, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Loose-Leaf Binders, and declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it pertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to loose-leaf binders and has for its object a loosc-leaf binder constructed of thin sheet metal in such a way that the spring action is derived solely from the hook-carrying members.

Ihe prior art shows several binders employing several hook-carrying members in combination with spring shells which afford the spring action to keep the toggle open or closed. Binders have been devised wherein a part or a great part of the spring action was derived from the hook-carrying members or some source other than the shell, but in a great many of the cases the shell will yield slightly and contribute some of the spring action.

It is the object of the present invention to use spring hook-carrying members which are carried in a thin metal shell so constructed that the shell is obviously incapable of expansion or contraction, and wherein the spring action which keeps the hooks opened and closed is derived solely from the hook-carrying members themselves or sources other than the shell.

The device is also neat in appearance, thinner than any binder of which I am aware, and simple to construct, the shell being capable of being made out of a single piece of material.

In the drawings, Figure 1 1s a. longitudinal section of the binder. Fig. 2.31s a fragmentary top elevation. Fig. Bis a fragmentary bottom view of the binder. Fig. 4 is a cross section on the line A-A of Fig. 1 showing the hooks closed. Fig. 5 is a similar view showing the hooks open. Fig. 6 shows a modified form in which in place of the attaching ears on the ends of the binder, a second shell is clamped over the primary shell solely for the purpose of clamping the binding fabric in place.

The binder comprises essentially three pieces. a is the binder shell; 6, b the wire hook-carryil'lg members with their upstand ing integral hooks. The combination of a shell and wire hook-carrying members, the wires of which are bent to meet in one or more spring toggles and in which spring action is derived from the Wires, is not new.

I employ the shell a which is made of a single piece of metal folded over upon itself at the back as shown in Fig. 3 so that prefcrably the folded over edges nearly meet as shown at 0. Now preferably the metal is cut away at the back of the shell adjacent the spring toggles (27, that is to say, the folded-over portions are only used along the length of the binder where the wire hookcarrying members parallel. the edges of the shell. However, the folded over back portions if desired may be used all along the back of the binder.

Those portions of the shell adjacent the parallel runs of the hook-carrying members are pressed down flat and together, and the turned-over back portions spot-welded as at e, e to the fiat portion of the shell above.

These turned-over portions of the binder,

however, are rolled over the hook-carrying wires so as to form cylindrical sockets or journals f at the edges of the binder for the parallel portions of the hook-carrying wires. 'Ihose portions of the binder shell adjacent the converging and toggling wire portions (the spring toggle) are pressed out as at g to form bosses to allow the movement of the toggling wires above dead center. Of course where the metal on the back or bottom of the shell is cut away as shown in Fig. 3, no boss is necessary on the bottom, but only the boss on top.

The hook-carrying wires are assembled into the shell when the shell is in the press and are permanently secured therein when in the press by suitable dies which press the intervening web portions between the cylindrical sockets so that they are flat and straight and connect the cylindrical sockets center to center in the shortest possible way. The press operation also embosses the shell adjacent the toggles. The spot-welding operation is done after the shell and hookcarrying members have been taken from the press.

From the above description it will be seen that I have devised a loose-leaf binder comprising really only three pieces and portions of which are of minimum possible thickness. At the same time this shell, although made of sheet metal, is of such a character that all the spring action to operate the hook-carrying members is derived from the hook-carry ing members themselves, for obviously any attempted expansion of the shell portions adjacent the journals tends to draw the flat intervening web in a straight line and the metal is not elastic this way but takes a pe rmanent set if it draws at all. Actual meas urements with the most delicate measuring instruments show tha no expansion whatever takes place as the hook-carrying members pass dead center.

In Fig. (3, instead of the ears h by which the binder may be riveted to the book-cover, a fabric-clamping shell 2' is employed. This shell can give no spring action to the hook carrying members because no thrust can be communicated to it by the journals of the shell a which are fixed in a microscopically unvarying relation with respect to each other.

hat I claim is:

1. In a loose-leaf binder, the combination of a shell arranged to form journals at the edges and having flat straight portions connecting the journals substantially from center to center, and hook-carrying members meeting in a toggle and mounted to turn in said journals, said hook-carrying members provided with means independent of the shell for affording all the spring action for keeping the hook-carrying members above or below the dead center they have by reason of their engagement.

2. In a loose-leaf binder, the combination of a pair of hook-carrying members meeting in a toggle and provided with means for afi'ording the spring action necessary to ordinarily keep the same on one side or the other of dead center, and a shell for journaling the said hook-carrying members, comprising a piece of metal folded over at the edges to form a pair of journals in which the hook-carrying members are mounted to rotate and having a straight web portion connecting the journals together in the shortest possible path so that the journals cannot separate or move toward each other.

3. In a loose-leaf binder, the combination of a pair of hook-carrying wires meeting in one or more places to form a toggle and arranged to have spring stress wholly independent of the shell, and said shell for journaling the hook-carrying member comprising a sheet of metal provided with turned-over edges to form journals for the wires, and intervening fiat web portions connecting the journals in the shortest posapproach of the said journals.

4. In a loose-leaf binder, the combination of a pair of hook-carrying wires meeting toggles and arranged to derive the spring stress to operate the toggle wholly from sources independent of the shell, and said shell for journaling the hook-carrying members comprising a sheet of metal turned over on its edges and folded back upon itself, said folded-back portion and the said portion of metal intervening between the journals being pressed together at the center of the journals to form a straight line connection between the journals, and the metal adjacent the toggle or toggles being in embossed relation with respect to the metal intervening between the journals.

5. In a loose-leaf binder, the combination of a pair of hook-carrying wires engaging to form one or more spring toggles, and a shell for journaling the same, comprising a sheet of metal folded over the intermediate portions of the hook-carrying wires at the edges and then back upon itself, said portions of the metal intervening between the journals and the folded-over portions being pressed in so as to connect the journals center to center in a straight line.

6. In a loose-leaf binder, the combination of a pair of hook-carrying wires provided with engaging portions to form one or more spring toggles, and a shell for journaling the same, comprising a sheet of sheet metal folded into cylindrical sockets at the edges, which cylindrical sockets are connected center to center by a straight fiat web of metal.

7. In a loose-leaf hinder, the combination of a pair of hook-carrying Wires having portions substantially parallel and converging portions which meet in a toggle, the spring action to operate which is derived from sources wholly independent of the shell, and a sheet metal shell comprising a piece of metal turned over at the edges to form cylindrical sockets in which the parallel portions of the hook-carrying wires are j ournaled and forming a fiat straight and shortest possible connection from cylindrical socket to cylindrical socket, portions of the said shell adjacent the converging portions of the hook-carrying wires being pressed out to form bosses.

8. In a loose-leaf binder, the combination of a pair of hook-carrying wires provided vith parallel portions and converging porions which meet in one or more spring toggles, a shell turned over at the edges to form cylindrical sockets for the parallel portions of the hook-carrying members and a flat portion connectin the sockets in the shortest possible way, t e said turned-over portions of the metalshell being turned i M back upon such flat metal piece and fastened sible path so as to prevent separation or thereto to form a flat web connectmn from journal to journal.

9. In a loose-leaf binder, the combination of a pair of hook-carrying wires provided in one or more places to form one or more with parallel portions and converging portions forming one or more toggles deriving their spring stress for operation from sources other than the shell, said shell pr0- videcl with turned-over edges forming cylindrical sockets for engaging the parallel portions of the hook-carrying Wires to jour- 11:11 the same and having an intervening Web which connects said sockets in the shortest possible way, the turned-over edges of the said sheet metal being homogeneously connected to the fiat metal above to form such flat Web.

In testimony whereof, I sign this specification.

RICHARD M. \VATSON.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of latenta, Washington, D. 0. 

